[justmeatgcw]

Dear DABHand,

Thank you for your thoughts.

I wish, however, to bring certain discrepancies to your attention.

1. You say that this site is for helping people who own their games legitimately and that an activation workaround would mostly help these warez users. I have absolutely no problem with the first part of the sentence but I question the universal validity of the final part as there are problems connected to this view. To begin with, a plain No-CD/DVD crack has the very same potential to help warez users. Hence, it is not satisfying let alone convincing to condemn no-activation hacks for their potential of helping a warez user. If you think your argument through, you would then reach the conclusion that even no-CD/DVD cracks must not be posted on the site or – as it is the case with no activation hacks – addressed (!) in the forum! Secondly, those people who own a game which needs to be activated and who join GCW forum and ask for help on such a workaround are being automatically branded by the moderators as warez dudes. In a way, these people are being prejudged; a real warez user who, on the other hand, requests a no-CD/DVD for his/her pirated game is able to download the item of desire from GCW. I daresay the moderators of GCW would not want to help the latter guy (the warez user) but rather the first (the guy who paid money but whose “crime” it is to ask for an activation workaround) – yet they do exactly this. Thirdly, I contest the idea that activation workarounds would be mostly (50+%) beneficial to warez users. I am not aware of any representative statistic which proves your theory; additionally, you need to ask yourself whether your theory might be true for ordinary no-CD cracks as well? As for my final point, I refer to the third paragraph of my initial post in order to avoid repetitions.
2. You write that I would never see an activation workaround on GCW. If this was true, it would be a shame. Still, I do not think my time here is wasted at all but I am grateful for your concern. All in all, I cling to my belief that this is a forum by users for users and that rules are flexible. But even if my petition is being ignored, the points I have brought forward still have their validity and prove that the world is not just black and white as the questionable rule makes us believe.
3. Concerning the EDIT, we are getting into legal issues now at which most of us are no experts (including myself). Consequently I limit myself to asking some questions. Is it really the right of a company to make me submit to an intransparent activation process I cannot control and which is sometimes not even mentioned on the back of the cover and the box – once opened – cannot be returned for a refund? What legal status has the EULA anyway and is it equally valid in all countries so that we can come up with universal rules? Is it not true that an EULA is basically an ordinary general terms and conditions paper of which it is widely known that firms abuse and overdo these agreements and its validity is subject to national legislation? If the latter is true, can companies abuse their power to limit or even destroy informational self-determination of the so-called free peoples? Think, for instance, of MS. Skills with their software have to appear in ANY resume these days: do people really have an option not to purchase their software and submit to an activation process they do not want?
4. Finally I do not think that your bus analogy does the trick. My first point is that it is anonymous. I get in the bus, purchase or present my ticket and off I go. The bus driver might spot my name but as he sees like hundreds of people a day, he does not remember me. In some countries you are not even required to present your ticket when you get in the bus. Only when there is a ticket inspector, you are required to show him or her your ticket. As for the activation process, I do not know what data is being collected, stored and (ab)used. Some say it is anonymous and that there is a difference to an registration – being a layman, I cannot judge that let alone come to an universal conclusion. But I can assure you that I am not tempted to trust a profit-maximising company which might very well earn a few extra bucks from selling personal information to God knows who. Having said that, I would not believe a self-called expert either. My last point is that your analogy – if it was appropriate – would fit the No-DVD check as well: to play the game (to ride the bus), you must prove it by passing the DVD-check (show your ticket).

Cheerio,

Just